Electric Field Tuned Dimensional Crossover in Ar-Irradiated SrTiO3

We present low temperature magnetoresistance measurements of Ar-irradiated SrTiO3 under an applied electrostatic field. The electric field, applied through a back gate bias, modulates both the mobility and sheet density, with a greater effect on the former. For high mobilities, 3-dimensional orbital magnetoresistance is observed. For low mobilities, negative magnetoresistance that is consistent with the suppression of 2-dimensional weak-localization is observed. The crossover from 3 to 2-dimensional transport arises from a modulation in the carrier confinement, which is enhanced by the electric field dependent dielectric constant of SrTiO3. The implications of our results on the development of oxide electronic devices will be discussed.